Hopeful Dawn
by Skippy1
Summary: A group of escaped convicts invade Glenoak and show no mercy. Note the horror genre. You have been warned.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**:  I don't own 7th Heaven or its characters or settings, and I'm not making profit from this.

**A/N**:  This takes place toward the beginning of Season 8.  Mary and Carlos are married and pregnant, Simon and Cecilia have broken up, Simon is in college, but Martin never showed up.  I think that's basically the only change.  I just made up Panama County Prison; I have no idea if it exists or not.  Enjoy!

Prologue 

Chandler turned up the radio in his car.  It was a good song, not angry rap or hard rock, the kind of music he would sometimes hear blasting from a teenager's car, and not too slow and dramatic, filled with melancholy minor chords.  The song was upbeat and happy, lifting his spirits.  He needed that today.  His counseling sessions had not gone too well, and he had had to quickly engulf a cold burrito for lunch because of a sudden, excessive workload.  Eric pestering him about his personal life did not help at all, either.  Chandler eyed a fast-food restaurant on the right, and his stomach expressed its yearning for a greasy hamburger by grumbling.  Just because he had had a skimpy lunch didn't mean he had to have a skimpy dinner.  He suddenly turned, upsetting the driver behind him and causing him to honk, but Chandler didn't care.  Noticing the long drive-thru line, Chandler parked his car and was about to turn off the engine when the song on the radio was interrupted.

"This is a special news bulletin," said the voice on the radio.  "A group of prisoners from Panama County Prison near Los Angeles have escaped at approximately 5:30 PM, or one hour ago.  We do not have any more information on the convicts, whether they are dangerous or armed, or where they are heading.  Please do not pick up any hitchhikers, and please report anyone suspicious to the police.  We will give you more information on this situation as it becomes available."  

The message began to repeat, and Chandler shut off the engine.  For a split second, Chandler wondered if he should get out of his car.  Even though the convicts might not be dangerous, armed, or anywhere near where he was, Chandler had a sinking feeling in him.  It seemed eerily quiet.  His stomach grumbled again, and Chandler pushed the thought away, telling himself he was just hungry, and it was quiet because he had turned off the engine.  He opened the door and stepped out.  Surprisingly, the drive-thru line had disappeared, and the temperature had suddenly dropped.

_It's because it's getting darker_, he told himself.  _Nothing to worry about._  The wind rustled through a nearby tree, adding a chill.  He took a breath and was about to take a step forward when the bullet went through his chest.  He let out a cry and looked down on himself.  An expanding cloud of red stained his blue shirt.  He touched it, as if to see if it was real, and his knees collapsed.  He grabbed the car for support, but just then, a second bullet went through his head and he fell, dead.  


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or its characters or settings.  
  
A/N: I finally updated!  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Matt Camden smiled as he approached the front door of the house. He was glad to be coming home, glad to be able to see his sister, pregnant, and her husband. They'd been married for half a year, and he felt bad about never meeting him, except for that one Christmas so long ago. Of course, leave it to Mary to finally tell Mom and Dad about him when they'd already been married for four months, and were pregnant, and Matt had only found out then.  
  
To his surprise the doorbell seemed unfamiliar when he rang it. It was odd; he had never thought he would have to ring it. The house had always been home to him; he had always just walked in. But today he was just an unexpected visitor.  
  
"Matt!" exclaimed Annie as she answered the door. She immediately gave her oldest son a hug. "I didn't know you were coming!"  
  
"I heard Mary and Carlos were coming, so I'd thought I surprise you," explained Matt." Annie beamed with joy.  
  
"This is wonderful!" Annie exclaimed. "The whole family is here now, except, where's Sarah?" Matt raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Sarah couldn't come; she couldn't change her schedule. Simon's here?" Annie nodded.  
  
"He had a long weekend, so he came home." Matt grinned.  
  
"Wow, this is great."  
  
*************  
  
"The baby's due in April, right?" asked Lucy during dinner. Mary swallowed her food and nodded.  
  
"April 29th," she confirmed.  
  
"It's healthy?" asked Simon.  
  
"Yeah, but we don't know the gender yet." The phone rang.  
  
"I'll get it," volunteered Kevin. He got up and walked to the living room.  
  
"Have you thought of names?" asked Annie.  
  
"I like Owen or Samantha," said Mary.  
  
"And I like Robert or Courtney," said Carlos.  
  
"No," they said in unison, answering Annie's question, and then laughed.  
  
"I think Owen is a good name, for a boy," commented Ruthie.  
  
"I like Robert better," disagreed Lucy.  
  
"Neither," said Annie. "How about.... William?"  
  
"Hey, whose kid is this?" laughed Mary. "Besides, I think it's a girl."  
  
"No way," said Carlos as Kevin walked back into the dining room.  
  
"I have to get to the station for some reason," said Kevin. "I trust everyone will be entertained without me?" Lucy seemed slightly concerned, but she along with everyone else smiled and nodded. "I'll call once I find out when I'll be back." He took a step toward Lucy and kissed her before saying goodbye to everyone and walking out the door.  
  
The dinner conversation continued until everyone had ceased eating. They all helped to clear the table, and from there moved into the living room, where more discussion ensued, until Annie announced that she was going to the grocery store to get ice cream for everyone. "I'll come with you," volunteered Eric.  
  
"So will I," said Matt, eager to have some time alone with his parents. They left and Ruthie, growing bored of conversation, managed to escape upstairs. A moment later she came back downstairs.  
  
"I left a book in my locker," she said. "Can someone take me back to school to get it?"  
  
"I don't have a car," said Simon. "Anyway, the school probably isn't open. It's 7:45."  
  
"It is. There's an orchestra concert."  
  
"I'll take her," volunteered Carlos. He and Ruthie left, leaving Simon, Mary, Lucy, and the twins, asleep on the floor.  
  
"So, want to go the pool hall?" asked Lucy.  
  
"Sure," said Mary.  
  
"Not with you two," said Simon.  
  
"Good," said Lucy. "We wouldn't have let you come anyway. Besides, someone has to watch the twins." Simon rolled his eyes, and the sisters left the house. With nothing else to do, he turned on the television and was hit with breaking news.  
  
"A group of escaped prisoners from a nearby prison have escaped, and are roaming this area," said the reporter on the television. "They are armed and dangerous, and there has already been one murder in Glenoak. We advise everyone to lock their doors and do not leave the house tonight." Simon gasped. Most of his family had left the house, and they had no idea of who was lurking around the town. 


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Heh, it's taking me like a month to get each chapter out. Sorry. Life's been extremely hectic and stressful lately. Luckily, tomorrow is the last day of school for me, (heavenly music) so hopefully I'll be able to update a bit faster. The key word there is hopefully, though, as I actually have quite a busy summer. I'll do my best.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
"What kind of music do you listen to?" asked Carlos to Ruthie once he started the engine of his rental car.  
  
"Anything," responded Ruthie. "I'm easy." Carlos fiddled with the radio once he had backed out of the driveway, but was unsuccessful at getting any sound to work. Ruthie tried as well, but she could not figure out how it worked either.  
  
"I guess we'll have to survive without music," said Carlos as he approached the middle school. "Is this it?" Ruthie answered in the affirmative and the car entered the about halfway filled parking lot.  
  
They entered the side door to the cafeteria and were greeted with the sound of a familiar waltz played by the orchestra that Carlos could not name. "I'll just wait here," he said to Ruthie as he sat down in an empty chair near the back. "You can get your stuff."  
  
It was nearly chaos at the police station. No one knew exactly what was going on, and it wasn't comforting for every single officer in Glenoak to be called up randomly. Very few were in their uniforms. Some had seen the news or heard about the escaped convicts on the radio, and there were a number of rumors flying around among the group at the station. Detective Michaels was in his office, but he had already refused to answer any questions until all the rest of the officers arrived. Kevin sat quietly in a corner, refusing to believe anything unless it came from Detective Michaels himself. He had noticed that Roxanne was not here yet, and was beginning to get annoyed with her for not showing up yet.  
  
Detective Michaels entered the room carrying a cylindrical poster tube and looking very solemn. Roxanne followed him, looking very annoyed and angry, because she had to come here so unexpectedly, Kevin assumed. She took a seat beside Kevin. Everyone got quiet and sat down in their own seats quickly, eager to hear the real story of what was going on.  
  
"As most of you probably know," began the detective, "twelve convicts escaped from a nearby prison at approximately 5:28 this evening. We know them to be armed and dangerous, and most importantly we know them to be in this area." There was a murmur in the crowd as he put up the poster on the bulletin board behind him. The poster portrayed the mug shot and name of each of the convicts.  
  
"Most of these criminals have very aggressive, erratic, and violent behavior. They were each convicted of murder at a young age, which is why they were in prison, although their records state they were destructive to society even before then. They all have lifelong sentences or are on death row, so they most likely feel as if they have nothing to lose. And tests show that most have high intelligence. They are angry and aggressive, but they have strategy, which enabled them to escape the prison. One civilian has already been killed, in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant on Caget Street." There was another murmur. Everyone knew the fast food restaurant he was talking about, and nearly everyone had eaten there before. It was hard to believe that there were psychopaths there and they had murdered an innocent person.  
  
"We are about ninety-eight percent sure that the murder was at the hands of one or more of these twelve men," continued Detective Michaels, pointing to the poster behind him. "And we have reason to believe that it is not the last murder they will commit tonight."  
  
It was ironic that those were his last words, because the men who were the topic of the discussion were outside at that very moment, plotting everyone who was in that room's death. They could not hear the man's voice, but if they had known that they set off the bomb the second after he said those words, they would have laughed. 


End file.
